β-alanine Supplementation To Improve Exercise Capacity And Performance: A Systematic Review And Meta-analysis 347 Board #168 May 31 11 00 AM - 12 30 PM

Abstract

PURPOSE: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence on the effects of β-alanine supplementation on exercise capacity and performance. METHODS: This study was designed in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. A three level mixed effects model was used to model effect sizes, along with the influence of various moderators including participant training status, duration and type of exercise (capacity and performance). Three databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science) were searched using a number of terms (“β-alanine” and “beta-alanine” combined with “supplementation”, “exercise”, “training”, “athlete”, “performance”, and “carnosine”). Inclusion/exclusion criteria limited articles to double-blinded, placebo-controlled studies investigating the effects of chronic β-alanine supplementation on an exercise measure. All healthy participant populations were considered. A single outcome measure was extracted from each exercise test and converted to effect sizes for meta-analyses. RESULTS: Forty individual studies employing 65 different exercise protocols and totaling 70 exercise measures in 1461 participants were included in the analyses. A significant overall effect size of 0.18 (95%CI: 0.08, 0.28) was shown. Meta-regression demonstrated that exercise duration significantly moderated effect sizes (P=0.004). Subgroup analyses also identified the type of exercise as a significant (P=0.013) moderator of effect sizes within an exercise time-frame of 0.5-10 min with…